


Hard to Ignore

by TheGeekySquirrel



Series: To Find a Family [9]
Category: Gorillaz
Genre: 2D's there but not really, Dialogue Heavy, Falling In Love, Gen, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Memories, No Russel/Noodle ya nasties, Talking, This was inspired by one of those ukelele love songs, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Uhhhh fuck, how do I tag this?, it's just for a second tho, you know the kind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 05:08:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15526722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGeekySquirrel/pseuds/TheGeekySquirrel
Summary: "Russel?""Yeah, baby girl?""How did you and Del meet?"





	Hard to Ignore

The question came from Noodle. It was a rather late night, to be totally honest. Murdoc was gone, thankfully, and 2D was half-asleep in a nearby chair, trying desperately to watch the rest of the movie. His girl was curled up at his side with the bowl of popcorn in her lap, though it was mostly empty at this point. He hadn’t expected her to ask it after so many years. That was probably why it made him jump.

 

“What?”

 

She moved her head so they could look each other in the face- 2D was the only one actually watching the movie anyways- and repeated herself, “How’d you meet Del? All I know was that it happened in Brooklyn.”

 

Maybe it was the cans of beer she’d drunk earlier or the effects of her insomnia or something else entirely, but she continued to watch him as he fell back into old memories he’d tried to forget once upon a time. He closed his eyes so he didn’t have to watch her seeing him be that kid again, too straight-edge from years of private school and too scared of making new friends. He saw himself standing in front of a class of people his age for the first time since he was little. His mamas had put him in public school after the incident, where he knew no one. 

 

He remembered the cute boy in dreadlocks offering the seat next to him when the bell rang. 

 

“It was the ninth grade. He was the first person to try to make friends with me when I started going to public school,” Russel told her hesitantly. Old laughter from stupid jokes they’d shared that first day played in his head. He thought of walking home together, cracking his own stupid jokes and the giggles he’d earned through them. 

 

“We just kinda clicked. He walked me home an’ told me I had a nice laugh. I told him he had nice hair. After that, we were always together. The girls that liked him were so mad that they could never get him alone, but we never cared. He taught me all about hip-hop and I tutored him in everything. I spent so much time at his place, his daddy started considerin’ me his kid. My mamas thought the same of Del,” he chuckled to himself, then added in a whisper, “Those were the days.”

 

“When’d you realize you loved him?” she asked next. He opened his eyes to give her a look, “Why you askin’? Do I gotta worry about someone tryina take my baby girl away from me?”

 

She let out a little laugh, jostling the bowl in her lap, “No, Russ, not yet. I just… I never really  _ got it _ until now.”

 

“A shocker, really. Even after he… y’know, we were still so close. Murdoc used to tell me to ‘keep my boyfriend from tryin’a cook’ ‘cause Del  _ always _ made a mess in the kitchen. He was just that sweet.”

 

Noodle rolled her eyes with a smile, “Answer the question, you dork!” 

 

He couldn’t help smiling with her as his eyes fell to his lap, “We started dating right before senior year. I’d had a crush on him since that first day, and he told me he started liking me like that a year later, but neither of us said anything until that July. When we started dating, everyone was confused. We got so many people fuckin’ up our lockers ‘cause they thought gay was bad, but we never minded it. I didn’t fall in love with him until September that year.”

 

Noodle nudged his back when he fell silent for a minute, “C’mon, keep going.”

 

“That… that was the first time we kissed. It was the first time  _ I _ ever kissed anyone. He just showed me how to do it, just like with everything then. I’ve… never felt so complete as I did then.” Russel closed his eyes. He’d once cried over these memories, but hsi tears had dried up a long time ago. Now, they made him smile as the feelings he’d had then bubbled up with only a bit of pain. Even after so long, he could still perfectly recall every moment of it.

 

“Do you miss him?”

 

The question made him chuckle now, “Every day. He was… my first everything. But every day I tell myself I’ll see him again after I get to the other side.”

 

His thought finished, they fell silent. 2D had fallen asleep sometime during their conversation and the credits were rolling now. Russel turned off the television, then got up to put a blanket over his sleeping friend. Noodle curled up against him again when he returned to the couch, this time with a blanket to drape over them.

 

“I hope that doesn’t happen for a long time,” she whispered to him in the dark. He hugged his girl close, planting a kiss on her forehead as she drifted off. Memories plagued him all through that night. For once, he let them follow their path with a smile. 

**Author's Note:**

> I blame Spotify for this, they thought I'd like one of those really cheesy ukulele white girl love songs and I did. It's also based on a long-standing headcanon of mine that Russel was a nervous little biscuit as a kid & Del was the one to break him out of his shell.
> 
> Don't forget to leave a kudos or a comment if you enjoyed! If you wanna, come talk to me on Tumblr (@theboi-stupot)! Have a great day and stay safe y'all!


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